LibraryLinkNJ subsidizes the cost of each class to make high-quality, low-cost training available to staff of member libraries. Please pay registration fees promptly.

You may cancel up to 10 business days before a scheduled class without penalty and receive a credit for another class, or a full refund. If you cancel less than ten days before, you are responsible for payment. For complete payment and cancellation policies, go to http://librarylinknj.org/content/continuing-education.

Drawing on the influential Urban Libraries Council report,Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development, this eCourse will help you identify and act on opportunities that match your library’s mission and goals with those of businesses and other organizations in your community. Building partnerships in the community is an excellent way for libraries to address the increased demand for library services that is coinciding with current funding cuts. Successful partnerships can not only help to fund your programs and but also win you new allies in the community by showcasing your library’s value.

In this interactive facilitated eCourse, Paul Signorelli will show how to build productive community partnerships that will help your library engage in meaningful projects while enhancing its standing in the community.

eCourse Outline

Part 1: Community Collaborations Between Libraries and Local Business—An Introduction

Overview of successful collaborations

How collaborations are developed

Identifying potential partners within a community

Part 2: Case Study: The Urban Libraries Council report Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development

Spelling out the economic, educational, and social needs that libraries and businesses both meet

Completing a needs assessment in order to develop focused projects

Beginning to build collaborations

Part 3: Case Study: A Public Library Working With a Local Business

Identifying stakeholders within the library, the business, and the community

Methods for bringing stakeholders together

How to develop a flexible plan of action

Part 4: Case Study: A Public Library Working With Another Community-based Organization

Implementing the plan of action

Evaluating the plan of action

Ways to expand existing partnerships for long-term sustainability

How this eCourse Works

The eCourse begins on October 3. Your participation will require approximately three to four hours a week, at times that fit your schedule. There are no live sessions. All activities take place on the website, and you will be expected to

Read, listen to or view online content

Post to online discussion boards

Complete weekly assignments or activities

Instructor Paul Signorelli will monitor discussion boards regularly during the four-week period, lead group discussions, and will also answer individual questions. All interaction will take place on the eCourse site, which will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's recommended that students log into the site on October 3 or within a few days for an overview of the content and to begin the first lesson.

Paul Signorelli has more than 20 years of experience as a learning leader for libraries and other organizations and businesses. As Director of Staff Training and Volunteer Services for the San Francisco Public Library system, he created, implemented, and managed numerous training plans. He continues to serve as a writer, trainer, onsite and online presenter, and consultant for a variety of organizations and remains active in the American Library Association Learning Round Table and with the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), where he has held leadership positions at the local and national level. He is currently a member of ASTD's National Advisors for Chapters.

Notes

Required Participant Commitment:

All eCourse participants must already possess access to the technology necessary to participate - see User Requirements above.

Participants are required to commit to do the following:

Participate fully in class activities each week of the course

Complete the course and all assignments

Post a least once a week in the LibraryLinkNJ Funding, Fund Raising and Community Partnerships Forum on the website http://librarylinknj.org/forum, sharing with the whole LibraryLinkNJ community what they learned, best practices, and how they plan to implement their new knowledge

Act as a resource to their colleagues on this topic

Registration Information

Limit:

10

Registration opened Tuesday, September 6, 2011, at 9:00 AM. Deadline is now extended until Tuesday, September, 20, 2011, at 12 noon. The first 10 members of LibraryLinkNJ to register are eligible for this discount. A waiting list will be available.

PLEASE: DO NOT REGISTER UNLESS YOU ARE FULLY PREPARED TO FULFILL THE REQUIRED COMMITMENT - SEE ABOVE.

After the registration deadline, the participants will be notified of their successful registration and be required to respond to the notice and acknowledge their commitment before the course begins.

LibraryLinkNJ, The New Jersey Library Cooperative, and its services are funded by the New Jersey State Library,
which is responsible for the coordination, promotion, and funding of the New Jersey Library Network.